According to Tom Van Riper of Forbes, the NHL’s biggest problem is having ten more teams than it should.

He says that dropping the players share from 57% to 50% and increasing revenue sharing isn’t going to solve the problem that some NHL teams are facing.

The only solution, besides a very high tax on the big market and wealthy teams is to contract the teams from a pool that are consistently losing money like the Islanders, Predators, Panthers, Coyotes, Devils, Ducks, Lightning, Blues and Blue Jackets.

He notes that Tampa Bay averaged slightly more fans than the Rangers did last season but used low ticket prices to lure those people in. Their ticket revenue was $23 million while the Rangers, with 3 times the price, brought in $95 million in ticket revenue.

Van Riper writes “Clearly, something has to give. The NHL does enjoy a nice fan base in many ways – true hockey fans are passionate and loyal, and surveys show them to be upscale and tech savvy. So there’s money to be made online, on television and at the gate, at least in strong markets. The sport just hasn’t caught on with the casual fan. Sooner or later, the size and scope of the league will need to reflect that.”